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“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness, from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this”
Isaiah 9: 6-7, NASB

Zeal, a noun, is defined as intense, high-wrought emotion that compels to action.

What is your first thought when you hear the word zeal? Is it these verses written by Isaiah, God-breathed by the Holy Spirit? Or, perhaps, it is the fact that our Lord is a zealous God, as well as a jealous God. (Exodus 20: 1 – 6)? Or do you think, “My zeal for my Lord is exactly what I want it to be?”

Although “Zeal,” is not a name, per se, that is ascribed to Jesus, it is an inherent characteristic, that is vigorously expressed on certain occasions. A similar reference is found in Isaiah 37: 32, concerning God’s destruction of 185,000 Assyrians, in protecting Jerusalem, as he had spoken to Isaiah: “The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.”

God spoke through Ezekiel, explaining His planned judgment against Jerusalem, “Thus My anger will be spent, and I will satisfy My wrath on them, and I shall be appeased. Then they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in My zeal, when I have spent My wrath on them” (Ezekiel 5: 13, NASB).

Certainly Jesus’ cleansing of the temple, was a demonstration of zeal (Luke 19: 45 – 46).

But His greatest zeal was demonstrated in obedience to His Father on Calvary’s cross, where He paid with His life the cost of atonement for our sins (Philippians 2: 5 – 8).

The Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 9: 6 – 7, is yet future. In His first Advent, Jesus came as the “Suffering Servant” described in Isaiah 52: 13 – 53: 12. When He said, from the cross, “It is finished,” He had completed His Father’s will for the redemption of sinful mankind. Then He stepped from the tomb, having conquered death. Returning to the Father, Jesus established the way into the eternal presence of God.

Jesus’ promised return (Acts 1: 9 – 11) still holds mystery, but will take place as explained in Matthew 24: 1 – 51; Revelation 19 – 22, and other passages. I believe the Isaiah 9: 6 – 7 prophecy pertains to the kingdom which Christ shall finally establish, and over which He will reign for all eternity as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace –
Jesus, on David’s throne, there’ll be no end to His government’s increase.
He will establish and uphold it, with justice and righteousness forever assured.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this, as promised by God’s word.

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 1:20

When our children were young we would have them choose one gift they would like to have for Christmas. With six children we had very limited funds for Christmas presents but we wanted each child to receive something they really wanted as long as it wasn’t to expensive.

Our youngest daughter Barbara was a rather precocious child, very active and loud. She was always down on her knees by the tree trying to catch a glimpse of her gift. I would wrap them so they could not guess what was in the package. When Barbara received her gift she ripped off the wrappings and quickly opened the box as she looked in she hollered as loud as she could YES! Jumping up she threw her arms in the air shouting Yes, Yes!

I like to think that the yes in this passage is quite like my daughters exuberant Yes.

There were a number of people in the Corinthian church who had a problem with the Apostle Paul. They accused him of being a yes and no man, they questioned his Apostleship. Paul’s response was, he made his decisions not in a worldly manner but in dependence on God’s grace. But when it came to his message concerning Jesus Christ, the Son of God there was no yes or no, it was a resounding YES.

God’s gift of his Son as Savior of the world was God’s shout of Yes to all the promises given since Eden concerning the coming savior. You see in the fullness of time God’s yes is personified in Jesus Christ as in him all the promises are fulfilled. It is the Father’s Christmas gift to you and me.

We then as God’s children can declare by faith “Amen” to God’s “Yes.” In the original that Amen is a very strong affirmation to God’s yes in Christ Jesus, God’s gift to us which we remember and celebrate at Christmas time, joyfully with thanksgiving.
~Pastor Jack Matheis

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In December 1963, it was considered questionable taste to use styrofoam letters toothpicked together to spell out “Merry Xmas” in a family Christmas picture for our family Christmas cards. Why the X? Because we couldn’t get the whole word “Christmas” to hold together without collapsing into a mess of vowels and consonants. We certainly tried. So my dad made a special run back to the crafts store to buy an X so we could get this picture done while his three children were still spit combed, and polished clean.

I vaguely remember my mother being a bit reluctant to use the abbreviation “X” to represent “Christ” in Christmas, as she thought it might offend a relative or two as possibly disrespectful, but we did send a copy of this picture out to the 100+ people on her list, and I don’t recall any fall out.

It turns out there is good reason for the traditional “X” in XMAS, and it is not to make Christmas advertising more compact, using less expensive space. It represents the first letter Chi of the name Christ in the Greek alphabet (Χριστός) and was used as an abbreviation for Christ (sometimes as below in the symbol known as the labarum, in combination with the “P” that represents the Greek letter “Rho”). This was sometimes a secret communication device between Christians, and often displayed overtly in worship settings. So the X is, in fact, a name for Christ, in shorthand. There is no disrespect meant, but rather a way that religious community members could easily find each other in sometimes oppressive circumstances.

Now, 52 years after this photo was taken, it’s the styrofoam that causes offense, knowing it will never break down in landfills, and simply can’t be destroyed without inflicting environmental damage. But the X representing Christ is here to stay. It may offend those who do not acknowledge the reality of God who walked the earth, dying in our place, broken in body only. His truth and spirit rose again and cannot and will not ever be destroyed.
~Emily Gibson

10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care.1 Corinthians 3:10

Our family had the privilege of being able to rebuild a 100+ year old cabin in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. As we peeled back layers of outer wall and flooring we were amazed at the hidden craftsmanship. Walls were made by hand-woven meshes of bamboo and twine, each small square perfectly sized and spaced. The floors were built on rough hewn posts floating on rocks, and in areas not damaged by time or this massive earthquake still perfectly straight according to our modern laser level. The bones of the cabin, logs and beams mortised and tenoned together using hand saws and hammers, had flexed as designed under the spectacular stresses of what they call a 1000 year earthquake and remain strong and safe. In fact, most of the damage we repaired was because of modifications made later that undermined part of that masterfully built structure. As much as possible we tried to work with the existing craftsmanship rather than just replace it.

To fully appreciate this verse we have to keep it in the context of the chapter. Jesus is the foundation already laid (11), and we are all builders from that point forward. All of us are part of, and responsible for, the building of the Kingdom. From that firm foundation Paul talks about the materials of building in a way that quickly brings to mind the three little pigs: gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw (12). The craftsmanship will be “revealed with fire and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work”(13). But then we get a glimpse of incredible grace and acceptance when we are told that, even if our efforts are burned up, “the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved…”(15).

I also find great comfort in this chapter’s emphasis that we are not in this by ourselves but “co-workers,” and that we are “God’s building” (9).

If you are a worrier as I am, you might find yourself asking too often: “what have I really accomplished” or “am I up to the task”? The concepts of grace in the face of failure and being part of a larger team and scheme then come as welcome assurance.
~Brian Vander Haak

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“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.John 15:5

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.Phil 4:8
What hath each passage to do with the other?

The Philippians verse, above, is one of my favorite scripture passages anywhere. I love it because I have learned that it isn’t a wag a finger in your face passage, but rather is a passage inviting us via a loving hand stretching out to us; beckoning to us to join Him. It is Jesus asking us to join Him in His grace.

Time after time we are urged by Paul to be “in Christ” and this is one of many, many such passages. The scriptures aren’t a rule book ready to punish us if we fail but is an open door showing us Christ standing outside after he has knocked. He is waiting for us to invite Him in to eat with Him and partake in His fellowship.

He is the Vine, we are the branches. He gives us our food and life-giving water to sustain us. He invites us daily to partake of Him and there is nothing and no one better.

Do we trust Him to prune us? Yes, He says, because then we will bear fruit and some of us at times will bear much fruit. If so, we in our season have more to share with our brother and sister branches that may have had a slim year. Next year it may be reversed, we are the body, He is the Vine.
Trust Him, the Vine will see to it that His branches will all be provided with much fruit.

And what is our goal of being in Him and seeking His face and the wisdom and gift of His Word?

He tells us a few verses later:“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”John 15:11
~Chris Lovegren

Japan is a culture of gift-giving. The list of occasions for the giving of gifts runs long, from the custom of bringing a gift for your host when invited into their home, to the custom of bringing お土産 (souvenirs) back for family, friends and co-workers after traveling, to the exchange of extravagant monetary gifts at weddings.

This last one in particular may surprise you: Depending on your relationship to the bride or the groom, you may be expected to bring anywhere from several hundred to a thousand dollars in cash for the new couple! Even more fascinating is that the bride and groom are in turn expected to pay back half of the money they received from you, when sending “thank-you” cards.

Japan is a culture of gift-giving. But it is not a culture of gift-receiving. Every gift given carries the unwritten expectation of somehow paying the giver back, no matter how grand the gift. And indeed, most gifts can be repaid on some level.

However, what happens when a gift cannot be repaid? This is, in fact, a very real obstacle to the spread of the Gospel in Japan. Various translations of the Bible use the adjectives“unspeakable”,“indescribable” or “inexpressible” to refer to God’s giving of His only son to die for our sins. In Jesus, we receive a gift that cannot be quantified; a gift without a price tag; a gift impossible to repay. For a culture insistent upon parity in the exchange of gifts, this is not only difficult to swallow, but perhaps even repugnant.

America may not have the same strict gifting etiquette that Japan has, and our visceral reaction to the gift of grace may not be quite so strong, but are our hearts really so different?

How do we respond to the Unspeakable Gift? Do we insist on trying to be more deserving of it, as though this were within our power? Do we harden our hearts because we would rather not receive something we cannot repay? Or, do we acknowledge that we are wholly undeserving and accept the Gift as we are, knowing that it will transform our hearts?

In a season often characterized by gifts under the tree, there may be no greater object lesson than this. Let us turn our eyes to the Gift who hung on the tree so that we might live. Regardless of our culture, may we receive this Gift humbly, responding with gratitude and joy unending!
~Nate Gibson